National Debt
January 10 - January 31, 2026
National Debt
Created primarily in 2025, National Debt chronicles a turbulent, historic period - one the artist describes as “running on empty, simply trying to survive.” The exhibition reflects Hanson’s personal sense of psychological and emotional “debt” accumulated over a year marked by instability, upheaval, and the relentless pressure to endure.
The works incorporate references to local realities, including climate change, worsening air quality, and social movements that shaped the region. Each piece serves as an immediate, visceral response to the world around her, capturing an atmosphere of exhaustion, resilience, and reckoning.
Minnesota painter Laura Hanson has been active in the local arts community since 2019, creating work grounded in observation, discomfort, and truth-telling.
Raised in Anoka, she approaches painting as a historical and emotional register - tracking the ways contemporary society mirrors earlier eras marked by propaganda, fear, and the consolidation of power.
Her work confronts these parallels with clarity and urgency, reflecting the world as she experiences it.
